Display structure



July 20, 1948.

J. E. BAXTER DISPLAY STRUCTURE Filed News, 1940 INVENTOR. JACK E, .BAXrER- BY Mm ATTO RN EYs.

Patented July 20, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Jack E. Baxter, Mariemont, Ohio Application November 6, 1940, Serial No. 364,545

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a display structure of such character that it is relatively inexpensive in initial cost and which can be dissembled and reassembled innumerable times in a substantially infinite variety of designs.

There is a considerable demand in stores, hotels, night clubs, and the like for display structures. For example, a hotel which is host to. a convention may wish to put up temporarily in the lobby some sort of an attractive display featuring the particular convention in question. Likewise, department stores will frequently set up temporary displays to feature some new line of merchandise. Night clubs and theaters and the like will frequently set up temporary displays which they will change from week to week. Heretofore such displays have generally been made from sheets of cardboard material or one or another of the various building boards now on the market. Such materials are generally expended in use by cutting or otherwise, and

being more or less fragile they will deteriorate so that when the display is dissembled and it is desired to erect a new display very little if any of the material can be salvaged. It will be clear that the invention is also useful for architectural purposes and is susceptible to numerous uses in connection with indirect lighting installation.

With the above considerations in mind it is an object of my invention to provide a display struc- (ems-is) ture comprising individual tiles with simple and which will appear to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is made to the drawings forming a part hereof and in which Figure 1 is a plan view of an assembly of panels according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view on a greatly enlarged scale taken'on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail view of one of the fastening elements in perspective.

Figure 5 is a somewhat enlarged view of a single panel showing the characteristic flow lines of the molded material.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I provide a display structure comprising a plurality of individual shallow boxlike panels. While the panels may be of a variety of shapes, I have shown them in the, drawings forming a part hereof as being square whereby they will give the effect of tiles. Any number of such panels may be fastened together by the very simple fastening means disclosed herein and built up into a displa structure of any desired shape. By judicious selection of colors and by the use of light behind the translucent'panels a variety of artistic effects may be attained.

The individual panels as shown in the drawings are of generally shallow boxlike shape having a face it! which is smoothly rounded at the edges asat H and having a skirt portion I2 which is somewhat offset as indicated at l3 so that when the panels are assembled, as most clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, spaces indicated generally at M willbe provided. The skirt portions of the panels are preferably bowed slightly as may be clearly observed with reference to the broken line A-A in Figure 5. The purpose of this structure is so that when adjacent panels are clipped together they will closely conform and will not leave spaces in the mid portions of the panels as might be the case if the panels should happen not to be perfectly uniform.

The skirt portions of the panels are provided with perforations indicated at 15 and it will be observed by reference to Figure 2 that the perforations l5 in one pair of opposed skirt portions are somewhat offset from the perforations 15 in the other two opposed skirt portions. This structure makes for increased strength and rigidity when the panels are in assembly, and permits the use of bracingrods if desired. Such rods may pass through the holes H3 in crisscross manner, and by virtue of the offset, such rods may pass each other.

Adjacent panels are fastened together by means of the fastening elements'indicated generally at 16 which are shown, in greater detail in Figure Such member I5 is preferably made from some sort of spring steel wire and is formed with a head portion indicated at Ilia and with two leg portions which have the projecting portions [6b which form engaging abutments for the skirt portions of the tile. The'ends of the member l6 may be crossed as shown in I60.

panels are not absolutely uniform, I prefer to insert between adjacent panels strips .of felt or any suitable material l1.

While the panels may be made froma variety of materials, I prefer that they be molded from a material known as styron or from a poly styrene, which material comes in a granular"'-- form and may be obtained in a variety of colors, and-whichis reduced to afluid state and injected into a mold as is well known in thea'rt.

In View of the fact that it is difficult when molding panelsof a combination of eqiers to produce a molded panel having a perfectly uniform-color; -I mayemphasi-ze the flow lines by injecting the material from opposite sides of the mold so that -adistinct line of division will be formed transversely ofthe panel with respect to the direction of injection. For example; in Figure-5, if the flow lines-areas shown, the molding material would have been injected from the top and bottom of theflgure.

I prefer to use a polystyrene for the'r'eason that the-panels thus-produced will be of good dimensional stability, alcohol and alkali resistant, will not warpor absorb appreciable amounts of water, and will have a relatively highcritical temperature- --I prefer to make them translucent, and I am-therefore-enabled-to place lights behind a display and achieve numerous beautiful effects.

While dimensions are not in the least critical, I have made very satisfactory panels of approximatelysix inchessquarew-ith the depth of the offset 13 fro nthe face-of the panel 10 being on the order of three-eighths of an inch and with theskirt-portion beingon the-order of threefourths ofan inch in width-and'with the panels being of a thickness on the order: of one-sixteenth'ofan-incfh. It is to be understood that these dimensions are exemplary only-and are in no sense to be considered as limiting the scope of my protection. A Likewise, while- I have shown square panels, it will be clear that the panels could-be rectangular or hexagonal -or any suitable shape which would permit a plurality of such panelsbeing assembled to for-m a display, and it will likewise be clearthat while I have'mentioned preferablya moldable material, Ilam not limitedto anyparticularmaterial, suchas-polytion, said face beingconfigured withrounded I4 edge portions: merging it intosubstantially-normal depending portions peripherally l inwardly offset from saidskirtportion and--connected thereto -by shoulder -like configurations-,lthe said unit-havingaregular polygonal contour and-the 4 skirt portion of the unit being so disposed that it may be attached to other similar members to form a self-sustaining, continuous, translucent, panel, the said skirt portions being provided with perforations having a regular spacing such that when individual units are assembled to other individual units, the perforations will match, whereby fastening means may be employed passing through the perforations in skirt portions of adtacm units, the said unit while stiff having walls characterized by flexibility, the said skirt portions being bowed slightly outwardly whereby fastening means engaging skirt portions of different units are enabled to provide a tight fit .-betw e err said skirt portions by slightly deflecting them.

2. A self sus'taining display structure comprising: a? plurality of panels of molded material, said panels comprising a face portion and depending skirt portions, said face portion extending above and beinga'nnularly, inwardly offset from said skirt portions so as to give the appearance of spacesbetween adjacent panels, said skirt por tionsbei ng'initially bowed outwardly a slight amount whereby a tight fit between adjacent skirt portions is provided, and means in the region" of said skirt portions for fastening adjacent panels together. I

3. A panel unit for display purposes comprisinga shallow, thin-walled, tray-like member of molded translucent material, said member having a face and a depending peripheral skirt portion,'sa'id face being configured with rounded edge'portions merging it into substantially norhial depending portions peripherally inwardly offset from said skirt portion and connected thereto by"' sho'ulder like configurations, the said unit having a regular polygonal contour, and the skirt portion of the unit being so disposed that it may be attached to other similar members to form a self-sustaining, continuous, translucent panel, the saidunit 'while stiff having walls'char'acterizd by fiexibilit the said skirt portions being bowed slightly'outwa'rdly whereby when skirt portions of adjacent units are fastened together a tight fit is provided therebetween by the slight straightenin g'deflection of said skirt portions.

. JACK E. BAXTERL REFERENCES" cusp 'I"he -foll owing references are of record in the file of this patent:

NITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,699,651; Ben-nett- Jan. 22,1929 1,708,394 Mugler Apr. 9, 1929 1,721,918 Me'yercord "July 23, 1929 1,991,550 Dufiy- Feb 19,1935 2,096,963 Erman Oct 26, 1937 2,102,179 Hopfi -1 Den-4,1937 2,139,322 Miner Dec. 6,-1938 2,151,447 Stanley Mar. 21,1939

2,11 ,l51 Dow- Nov-. 28, 1939 2 ,l9 3;,207 Rosen Mar; 12,1940 2,205,515 Burroway June 25,1940 2,213,506 Thoresen 1 Sept. 3-, 1940 2,250,173; Guignon,-Jr. --oct.-21,-194r1 2,300,746 Phillips ----NoV.- 3,1942

FOREIGN "PATENTS 7 Number Country one 

